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Winemaker's Notes:

Wine:
"Quinta do Vale Meao Vintage Port 2011 is a deeply colored
wine, with a powerful attack, full of intensity where one easily
can find fresh fruity notes. It is very well structured so we believe
it will age beautifully. Its final blend is composed of 60% Touriga
Franca, 20% Touriga Nacional, 5% Tinta Barroca, 5% Tinta Roriz,
5% Sousao and 5% of other varieties."
"This is a vintage port produced solely from the exceptional vineyards of the
Quinta do Vale Meao in the Douro Superior. This historic Estate, founded in 1877 by the legendary Port producer Dona Antonia
Adelaide Ferreira and now owned by her great great grandson Francisco Javier
de Olazabal, is situated in the wild upper reaches of the Douro and has
consistently produced top quality grapes."
"In 1998 Francisco Javier de Olazabal resigned as President of A.A. Ferreira S.A. to
dedicate himself, together with his Oenologist son Francisco de Olazabal y
Nicolau de Almeida, to producing, ageing and marketing the wines from the
Quinta through a new company, F. Olazabal & Filhos Lda. Vines cover 85 hectares of the property, over three distinct soils (alluvial, granite
and schist), which offer a uniquely complex terroir for a single estate."
"The unfortified wines of this estate (Quinta do Vale Meao and Meandro de Vale
Meao) already count as amongst the most sought after in all Portugal and have
deserved international acclaim. 2000 was their first Estate bottled Vintage Port, followed by 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007,
2008, and now 2011." - Winery
Harvest Report:
"After a long, cold and rainy winter, spring arrived with the average
rainfall for the year fulfilled – about 400 mm. This situation allowed an
earlier than normal but fantastic bud break, with a promising yield in
view. The rainy days occurred throughout the spring causing some
downy mildew risks, not significant in this estate, but causing severe
damage in the region. The water levels in the soil after a rainy winter
and spring allowed the plants to go through summer without severe
stress, but the early bud break date forced us to start the harvest on
the 23rd of August. A few days later we had 15 mm of rain in two
consecutive days, which was beneficial to balance the maturation
of Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca, picked in the second week
of September. Up to the end of the vintage we’ve enjoyed perfect
weather, sunny and mild, which allowed us to harvest slowly and to
choose the ideal timing for picking the different varieties." - Winery
Vinification:
"We picked the grapes by grape variety and ensured raisined
and unhealthy bunches were separated. They were then
crushed, cooled, and fermented in our traditional granite
“lagares” until fortification. The resulting Port was racked into
large vats, where it was left to mature, until the final blend was
made in April 2013." - Winery

My Wines

My Cellar

No we are not! In 1999, we were researching unusual varieties for planting at our new vineyard at Balnarring on the Mornington Peninsula, some 80km. South of Melbourne, and noted that Durif was regarded as an early ripening variety (John Gladestones – Viticulture and Environment, 1992 page 67) along with Tempranillo (another variety we planted) and should be suitable to our site.
Discuss... Read more

No we are not! In 1999, we were researching unusual varieties for planting at our new vineyard at Balnarring on the Mornington Peninsula, some 80km. South of Melbourne, and noted that Durif was regarded as an early ripening variety (John Gladestones – Viticulture and Environment, 1992 page 67) along with Tempranillo (another variety we planted) and should be suitable to our site.
Discussions with various experts (including Dr. Richard Smart) indicated that Durif (Petit Syrah as it is known in USA) was very prone to bunch rot and our cool maritime climate with an annual rainfall of some 750 mm., would prove to be difficult. It had originally been developed in the Southern Rhone area of France by Dr. Durif in the late 19th century by crossing true Syrah with Peloursin, but, today, very little remains in France because of the bunch rot problems. A recent visit by my daughter Caroline ( a winemaker at Leasingham Wines) to the Southern Rhone area found that Durif is still grown in small quantities to add colour and tannin to Rhone wines, but not declared as it falls outside the appellation controlee regulations.
Durif has been grown in the Rutherglen and Riverina areas of Australia for many years and has produced massive wines with great tannin structure, deep, deep colour and traditionally high alcohol levels ideally suited to long term cellaring. Would the Mornington Peninsula be able to tame the beast? Would the crop succumb to disease?
After two vintages experience, we can now report the wine shows similar characteristics to the Rutherglen style, but with less ripe fruit, less tannin and a degree of spiciness derived from its Shiraz origins. This results in a more elegant style of red wine not dissimilar to a cool climate Shiraz.
The crop levels are enormous and judicious heavy pruning is necessary to achieve full ripening of the bunches. The 2004 vintage of Durif from our vineyard achieved an alcohol level of 15% and there was no bunch rot evident. Another great advantage of Durif is that it is not susceptible to Powdery Mildew – a constant problem in cool areas such as ours. Read less

Editorial Reviews for Quinta Do Vale Meao Douro

Touriga Nacional from alluvial gravel
Big wild berry fruit on the nose is layered over a base of dusty, spicy, inky aromas that are framed with a fine dried meat note. Opening with tons of wild blackberry cherry fruit, and herbal spicy, this lacks a touch of brightness in the mouth and is fairly tannic and astringent. The midpalate is a bit tough and angular, with mineral driven raspberry flavors that would be rather elegant if not for the rustic tannins. Finishing with a lingering note of astringency, this shows a minty edge to the blackberry fruit and incipient notes of tobacco and black tea. Promising, but not there yet. 87pts

Nutty oak, all creamy cognac and cigar box is dominant on the perfumy nose which also shows some subtle fruit aromas. A touch compact on entry, this then gains weight and power in the mouth, a bit tough but with excellent depth on the palate. Some nice inner mouth perfumes emerge slowly but this is still mostly tight and closed with inky, black fruit and quite tannic. Dark, dry, and powerful on the finish with some stemmy spice and pipe tobacco notes that are persistante leading to mineral, stony note on the finale. This is quite young and should be laid down for five or more years. 93pts

Touriga Nacional from alluvial gravel
Big wild berry fruit on the nose is layered over a base of dusty, spicy, inky aromas that are framed with a fine dried meat note. Opening with tons of wild blackberry cherry fruit, and herbal spicy, this lacks a touch of brightness in the mouth and is fairly tannic and astringent. The midpalate is a bit tough and angular, with mineral driven raspberry flavors that would be rather elegant if not for the rustic tannins. Finishing with a lingering note of astringency, this shows a minty edge to the blackberry fruit and incipient notes of tobacco and black tea. Promising, but not there yet. 87pts

Member Reviews for Quinta Do Vale Meao Douro

External Reviews for Quinta Do Vale Meao Douro

Source: Premium Wine & Spirits

06/28/2014

A lush, seductive red, filled to the brim with an array of dark fruit and kirsch flavors, accented by plenty of cream and spice notes. Silky tannins and molten chocolate hints add richness. The long finish echoes with mineral and white pepper details. Best from 2015 through 2022.

This is concentration in a glass. The wine, from a fine vintage, is hugely rich, very dense and tannic. All this power, though, is not at the expense of elegance. The wine has great style and a sense of place, with a strong mineral character. It almost tastes of the granite and old rocks of the vineyard. Keep this wine and don’t drink before 2019.

Wine:
"Quinta do Vale Meao Vintage Port 2011 is a deeply colored
wine, with a powerful attack, full of intensity where one easily
can find fresh fruity notes. It is very well structured so we believe
it will age beautifully. Its final blend is composed of 60% Touriga
Franca, 20% Touriga Nacional, 5% Tinta Barroca, 5% Tinta Roriz,
5% Sousao and 5% of other varieties."
"This is a vintage port produced solely from the exceptional vineyards of the
Quinta do Vale Meao in the Douro Superior. This historic Estate, founded in 1877 by the legendary Port producer Dona Antonia
Adelaide Ferreira and now owned by her great great grandson Francisco Javier
de Olazabal, is situated in the wild upper reaches of the Douro and has
consistently produced top quality grapes."
"In 1998 Francisco Javier de Olazabal resigned as President of A.A. Ferreira S.A. to
dedicate himself, together with his Oenologist son Francisco de Olazabal y
Nicolau de Almeida, to producing, ageing and marketing the wines from the
Quinta through a new company, F. Olazabal & Filhos Lda. Vines cover 85 hectares of the property, over three distinct soils (alluvial, granite
and schist), which offer a uniquely complex terroir for a single estate."
"The unfortified wines of this estate (Quinta do Vale Meao and Meandro de Vale
Meao) already count as amongst the most sought after in all Portugal and have
deserved international acclaim. 2000 was their first Estate bottled Vintage Port, followed by 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007,
2008, and now 2011." - Winery
Harvest Report:
"After a long, cold and rainy winter, spring arrived with the average
rainfall for the year fulfilled – about 400 mm. This situation allowed an
earlier than normal but fantastic bud break, with a promising yield in
view. The rainy days occurred throughout the spring causing some
downy mildew risks, not significant in this estate, but causing severe
damage in the region. The water levels in the soil after a rainy winter
and spring allowed the plants to go through summer without severe
stress, but the early bud break date forced us to start the harvest on
the 23rd of August. A few days later we had 15 mm of rain in two
consecutive days, which was beneficial to balance the maturation
of Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca, picked in the second week
of September. Up to the end of the vintage we’ve enjoyed perfect
weather, sunny and mild, which allowed us to harvest slowly and to
choose the ideal timing for picking the different varieties." - Winery
Vinification:
"We picked the grapes by grape variety and ensured raisined
and unhealthy bunches were separated. They were then
crushed, cooled, and fermented in our traditional granite
“lagares” until fortification. The resulting Port was racked into
large vats, where it was left to mature, until the final blend was
made in April 2013." - Winery